In the US wine industry, premium wine from boutique producers reigns supreme. Whether implicitly or explicitly stated, these wines garner respect and esteem from wine enthusiasts. Correspondingly, their high point scores and critic reviews positively impact bottom-line sales. In contrast, the vast majority of American consumers purchase their wines (and alcohol in general), most commonly at grocery stores and big-box wine retailers.
Scroll down for a selection of 15 wines to try from grocery and big-box stores
Producers of fine wines will often craft wines from broader appellations – rather than sub appellation or single vineyard offerings – as a way to build their brand beyond their tasting room and wine collector audiences.
Convenience is king
With more than 260 stores, Total Wine & More is now the largest alcohol retailer in the US, with revenues of over $6bn. According to Rodolphe Boulanger, vice president of wine merchandising at the chain, ‘customers rave about the convenience of being able to find all the wines, beers and spirits they’re looking for in one location.’
This convenience drives consumers. ‘While supporting small businesses is encouraged, many consumers still value the convenience of big-box stores, making accessibility a key factor in their purchasing decisions,’ says Aly Wente, vice president of marketing & experiences at Wente Vineyards, her family’s fifth-generation winery in the Livermore Valley of California.
Miami Beach, Florida, Total Wine & More store. Credit: Jeffrey Greenberg / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Complexities of distribution
The United States alcohol industry operates within a three-tier system in which wineries must work through an importer or distributor to secure placements of their wines in both on-premise (i.e. restaurants and bars) and off-premise (i.e. wine shops and retail stores) locations.
This ‘distribution’ model is in contrast to selling their wines directly to consumers (DTC) either in a tasting room, online, or through a wine club. Profitability is higher with the DTC model, but distribution helps you more easily secure brand recognition in the marketplace, primarily through placements at large retailers.
Just because a quality producer has a wine in wide distribution does not mean the wine is made any differently than their smaller production bottlings.
Some of the best values will be found in these more significant production and broader appellation designate wines. Small, quality producers strategically distribute such wines to expose more wine drinkers to their brand. Their single vineyard or single block ultra-premium wines only have so much reach due to their small production sizes and higher price points.
Large retailers also chose to carry larger appellation premium wines in only select stores to localise the assortment. ‘We’re big believers in carrying local wines and popular brands. Although we have stores from coast to coast, every store carries a different assortment,’ says Boulanger.
Courting new consumers
Early in their wine-drinking journey, consumers may be unfamiliar with specific regional sub-AVAs, let alone understanding the corresponding quality hierarchies that these designations may imply. Still, they will likely be familiar with broad and established appellations such as ‘Napa Valley’ or ‘Columbia Valley’.
Wente agrees: ‘Broader appellation designates appeal to a wider consumer base that may not be familiar with specific wine regions and their distinctions.’ Aaron Barnett, a winemaker at Paul Hobbs’ Crossbarn brand, emphasises: ‘A broad appellation wine is a terrific introduction to the region’s terroir – to the depth and balance it’s capable of in a blend of expressions from top sites.’
Crafting approachability
The ‘red blend’ category has seen significant growth in the US wine market. It is the third largest selling category after Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon (according to the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank Report).
For the seasoned wine drinker, a ‘blend’ typically refers to a wine made from multiple grape varieties. For this discussion, we’re referring to a quality and value-driven wine made up of grapes from multiple places within one larger region. In the Old World, classic wines such as Cotes du Rhône, or Bordeaux Rouge or Blanc come to mind.
‘Bordeaux blends are rooted in this philosophy. Crafting a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon versus a multi-appellate Cabernet Sauvignon is like trying to colour a picture with four crayons instead of a 24-pack,’ says Hope Goldie, vice president of winemaking at Darioush in Napa Valley.
Broader appellation wines allow the winemaker to select the aroma, flavour, and textural elements from each site they seek in the final wine.
Barnett demonstrates this with Crossbarn’s Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. ‘You’ll find bright acidity from cool West Sonoma Coast, powerful fruit with complementary earth notes from Russian River Valley, and even playful hints from smaller sub-AVAs like Sebastopol Hills.’
He continues, ‘All those elements together create the larger Sonoma Coast palate, but even if the wine drinker doesn’t realise it, individually, they’re also offering introductions to smaller, distinctive regions.’
The role of gateway wines
Winemaking is a complicated process filled with seemingly endless decisions that inform the final wine in the glass. Crafting a wine from a broader appellation requires restraint from the winemaker. Restraint to understand that not all wine must be super-premium. Restraint to embrace the reality that there is tremendous value in showcasing a quality wine from a broader appellation that appeals to more wine drinkers.
This helps bring brands in front of new customers. Perhaps those same drinkers can grow with the brand and enjoy their other smaller-production offerings. Barnett hopes to ‘build their confidence to take deeper dives into the sub-AVAs with our Paul Hobbs vineyard-designate wines or that they’ll taste wines from other producers who work with the same regions’.
Blossoming wine aficionados can find quality, value and a sense of place in grocery or big-box retailers through wines of the broader appellation. These ‘appellation’ SKUs are quality wines that speak for themselves and where they came from, no matter how broad the region.
‘Wine is about exploration and discovery, so embracing some level of risk and adventure in your choices can lead to rewarding experiences,’ says Wente.
‘While it’s exciting to detect a specific sense of place in a vineyard-designate wine, it’s also incredibly satisfying to find in a well-made appellation wine,’ concludes Barnett.